Aria
|health = 1/2 Coeurs |weapon = Dague |item = Charme Nazar Potion |unlocking = Finir la Zone 4 en temps de Melody |music = FamilyJules7X }} Aria is Cadence's maternal grandmother. She once used the Golden Lute to cure the sick townsfolk. However, their greed turned them against her, leading her to seek for the help of the Necrodancer on how to destroy the lute. Tricked by him and stabbed in the heart, she was later rescued by her daughter, Melody, and now seeks the altar to destroy the lute and break its curse. To unlock her, you must beat zone 4 as Melody. Rules and Restrictions She starts with a Dagger, and that is the only weapon she can use. Her level progression is reversed, meaning she starts in Zone 4 and progresses to Zone 1. Enemies from the previous zones will still appear. Aria is unique in that she only has 1/2 health, and cannot gain HP by any means. She dies instantly when getting hit or when missing a beat. Therefore, Monkeys and trap doors are fatal to her. Spiders won't appear in zone 4 when playing as Aria, and Red Bats and Black Bats are replaced with Blue Bats, though Green Bats are left unchanged. She also starts with a Potion, which will protect Aria from dying due to a missed beat. The multiplier will still be dropped though, so pay attention to that when using an Obsidian Shovel. The Potion will also protect her from dying due to damage, but any glass items you were holding will still break, which can make continuing the run much more difficult if you had a lot of those. Since Aria cannot prevent her one-hit death, no regular Armor of any strength is accessible to her. She also cannot exchange her Dagger, which means she cannot find any Weapons, and using any means to give her another weapon will result in a death to "Cowardice". Additionally, she does not have access to Ring of Protection, Ring of Regeneration, Helmet, Crown of Thorns, Hargreaves, Ballet Shoes, Boots of Pain, Charm of Risk, Charm of Gluttony, Charm of Protection, Heart Containers, War Drum, Blood Drum, Enchant Scroll, and Food (though food can still be found from barrels and crates). Has access to all shrines except Blood, Risk, Peace, and No Return. Has access to all secret shops except Blood and Food. As with any other weapon-locked character, all shops contain only two items instead of the usual three. Strategy Items Aria's item pool is very limited. Not having access to weapons, or items that increase HP, your best bet is to find items that allow you to prevent damage (Glass armour, frost charm, shield spell etc). You start with a potion, so keep your wits about you even if you get hit once, you will still be alive and you can recover. If somehow have food on you, you can use it to become invincible for a beat. Combat Being only able to use the default dagger you are stuck with a single square attack. Skipping beats by digging is essential to draw enemies into your range, so staying close to dirt walls is your best option. Having a decent shovel will help out greatly, as you can dig up most walls and skip beats that way. Trivia * Aria has been stabbed in the heart by The NecroDancer. This is why she dies instantly, as any wound to her heart would be fatal.